Who Is Your Inspiration?

image from:  www.fantasyhelp.com

Who inspires you to jump out of bed and get moving?  Whom do you draw your strength from?

I would love to know -- please start the conversation in the Comments Section of this blog post.

Since I have been a long distance runner for the past 39 years, my greatest inspiration has been Grete Waitz, nine time winner of the NYC Marathon -- do you have any idea what it takes to win a marathon that many times, especially in NYC?  Grete Waitz was also our Fred's Team Captain (click on this link for more info:  Fred's Team).  Grete was one of the most gracious and humble people I have ever met. The most memorable moment was when she crossed the finish line of the 1992 NYC Marathon, hand-in hand, with Fred Lebow, President of the New York Road Runners Club (NYRRC).  At that time, Lebow's brain cancer was in remission -- they ran the entire race together.  They finished in 5 hours, 32 minutes and 34 seconds -- for me, this moment remains one of the most memorable and emotional scenes in all of road racing.

Grete Waitz & Fred Lebow Finish Hand-in-Hand in 1992 NYC Marathon
image from:  AFP/ScanPix

Lebow was the visionary behind the NYC Marathon -- each year, he was so busy organizing the event, that he never ran in it until 1992.  For Grete to run that slowly had to be very physically painful (have you ever tried running 26.2 miles at half of your normal speed?) -- however, I am sure that it was one of the most gratifying experiences of her life! Grete encouraged and inspired her good friend throughout the journey and across that finish line, a vision that is indelibly inked in my memory.

Fred Lebow succumbed to cancer on October 9th, 1994.  It was a very sad day for all New York City runners and an entire nation of runners.

In 2005, Grete was diagnosed with cancer -- she never revealed any details, but bravely fought the disease and continued to be our Fred's Team Captain and inspiration.  On April 19th, 2011, she lost her battle. Grete Waitz was and continues to be my inspiration -- she was a true champion in every sense of the word:  a great runner, a phenomenal role model, and a class act!  

Bridges

The Verrazano Narrows Bridge is my favorite bridge to run across -- this is where the NYC Marathon begins.  This November, I will toe the starting line on the Verrazano for the fifteenth time.  The funny thing is that standing on this bridge, waiting for the cannon to go off never gets old.  The bridge and the view are both beautiful, the fireworks are amazing, and running to Frank Sinatra singing New York, New York is so inspiring.  During the NYC Marathon, runners also cross over four other bridges that connect the boroughs of the Big Apple.

Symbolically, bridges represent transitional periods in our lives - we are crossing from one place to another.  Every time I run a marathon, I am changed by the events that happen during my 26.2 mile journey.  Inevitably, there will be several significant occurrences during each marathon that become indelibly ingrained in my memory.  

I have witnessed injured runners literally crawl through the finish line.  I have observed the bond between fellow runners when one ceases up with a hamstring cramp and the other stops to massage his muscle so that they can continue to run together, as a unified force, pushing each other to the finish.  I have watched a very special father-son duo complete many marathons that I have participated in -- dad runs as he pushes his disabled son in a special wheelchair. Then, there was one NYC Marathon, when I was running across the Queensborough Bridge and everyone suddenly came to a virtual standstill -- we did not know why until we saw a blind runner who became detached from his guide, unsure of where he was going; our mission then shifted to reuniting the blind man with his guide before we continued our own races.

Bridges are a passage -- they connect us from one place to another. We as runners are all connected through our common goal to get to the finish line. Completing our trek is our rite of passage.